The world is moving so fast, there is no time to prove, but whatever we learn, we must bring it and cook it and eat it immediately. So the whole point is that we must see with our own eyes and not accept any laid-down tradition as if it had some magical power in it. There is nothing magical that can transform us just like that. Although, being mechanically minded, we always look for something which will work by merely pressing a button. There is a great attraction to the short cut.

But some manual work and physical effort is necessary. If we go somewhere on foot, we know the way perfectly, whereas if we go by motor car or airplane we are hardly there at all, and it becomes merely a dream.

From “The Life and Example of the Buddha,” in Meditation in Action, page 9.

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Chogyam Trungpa, late 1960s.